They'll tell me later what I got wrong.
Of the folks who were going to present, one is Bob Lowe. Bob is a rancher from southern Alberta. He is currently also the chair of the Alberta Beef Producers. He chairs our environment committee. It's unfortunate that you don't have him here. He speaks from first-hand experience.
At the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, we represent approximately 68,000 cattle producers across the country. As you know, we work on any issues related to cattle producers. Whether they're trade, environmental, or other issues, you name it, we're interested in helping to form good policy.
With more than 98% of farms across Canada being family owned and operated, we know that these small business owners, these producers—and that's what they are, they're small business owners—care deeply for the land under their stewardship. One of the things we often hear them saying is that they want to leave the land in better shape than it was when they got it. These are people who talk proudly about how many generations their families have spent on the land. They know that they're there for just a short time, and they want to leave that land in better shape for their kids, their grandkids, and so on.
In the time we have, we want to cover three main points.
The first is that we do need to have a healthy cattle industry to help sustain rangelands and the habitats they preserve in both public lands and private lands. Second, producers and government need to work together to find solutions for species at risk on agricultural landscapes. The third point is that investing in research, innovation, and agri-environmental programming are excellent investments and are critical for us to continue.
First, a healthy beef cattle industry plays an integral role in helping to sustain rangelands. Canadian cattle producers support a healthy, diverse agriculture landscape, which is important for economic diversity as well as in maximizing delivery of ecosystem services from the land. Beef producers utilize varied agriculture landscapes across Canada, including public and private lands, cropland, grassland, forest, shrubland, pasture land, and riparian areas. Well-run ranching operations are truly an extension of Canada's natural landscape and contribute greatly to existing ecosystems.
While healthy rangelands form the backbone of the largest agriculture industry group in Canada by providing forage for cattle, they also provide critical habitat for native species, enhance water conservation, and sequester large amounts of carbon. Furthermore, rangelands form a vital corridor for North America's migratory and native birds and many other important species.
Rangelands also benefit human society and quality of life. There are examples of this. Rangelands reduce urban water treatment costs. They provide a buffer against the effects of droughts and floods. They increase economic viability and offer tourism and recreation opportunities that stimulate local economies.
But we can't take these rangelands for granted. Today less than 40% of Canada's grasslands remain intact, and continued economic competition threatens conversion into other uses of the land.
Effective partnerships between the ranching community and conservation organizations, governments, and academic institutions are all essential to our preservation efforts. Collaborations such as these champion innovative ideas for conserving and restoring native landscapes and enhancing ranch profitability. Together, we must ensure that cattle producers maintain ranch profitability so they can maintain their role on publicly and privately owned agriculture landscapes as stewards of these threatened grassland ecosystems.
To sum up that first main theme, continued access to federal and provincial lands for grazing, the development of risk insurance, and other incentive tools that help economic parity with alternate land uses are imperative in helping to maintain these landscapes. In essence, a healthy beef cattle market can play an integral role in helping sustain ranchlands, and vice versa.
We need to find mutually acceptable approaches to managing species at risk. Whether on public or private land, species at risk often find homes on Canada's ranchlands. This speaks to the quality of habitat maintained by Canada's beef producers, although given the loss of other habitat due to factors outside the control of the beef industry, we do carry a large burden in maintaining critical habitat for Canada's species at risk.
While we support the intention of the Species at Risk Act, we encourage the federal government to find ways for those on the land to be compliant with the act in an economically feasible manner. We have to bear in mind that the species at risk on the land are there because of what the rancher is doing, not in spite of the rancher. The Canadian beef industry encourages the government to do everything possible to implement the act in a way that is truly based on the stewardship approach, as we will be able to achieve much greater success through a collaborative stewardship than through cumbersome regulation. Rewarding ranchers for good stewardship practices will be far more successful than penalizing through regulation.
We also have to keep in mind that managing for individual species will invariably harm others. Whether it's sage grouse or swift fox, we have to take a holistic approach. The act has created a loss of real and perceived landholder rights and placed unjust liability on Canada's farmers and ranchers. For example, today a rancher could be held liable if he accidentally and unintentionally harmed a species at risk through a very normal agricultural practice, such as cutting grass to use as hay to feed his cattle.
We need better clarity on implementation for landholders. We encourage the government to look at existing infrastructure to help achieve the goals of the Species at Risk Act. For example, in Alberta we have grazing leases on public lands. Producers are already committed to a grazing agreement to ensure the health of the grazing lands. This is measured and monitored and could be considered a form of compliance with the Species at Risk Act. Furthermore, there are excellent programs that exist to work with ranchers on protecting species at risk. Another example is the MULTISAR program. It's a program that works with ranchers who have species at risk on their operations to achieve beneficial habitat outcomes in a non-threatening manner.
The third area is funding research innovation for agro-environmental programs. Through research, we have found that to maintain the quality of rangeland ecosystems, from time to time a natural disturbance such as a fire is beneficial. Obviously that's a risky strategy, but something that's more economically viable and manageable is grazing. The way that cattle ranchers operate can replicate these natural disturbances. Beef producers utilize cattle to replicate the important role that bison or other large ungulates used to play in natural rangeland ecosystems.
We're continually investing and advancing our knowledge with regard to how to best manage our resources, as it's widely understood that overgrazed or undergrazed lands benefit neither the habitat nor the profitability of the rancher. The industry invests significantly in research, education, and innovation, and we encourage the federal government to continue to do so as well.
How are we for time?
